Almost everyone has seen the fossilized remains of prehistoric plants or animals. These might have been the skeleton of a gigantic dinosaur, the petrified trunk of an ancient tree, or the shells of snails or oysters that lived in the great seas that covered Texas millions of years ago.
Vermiculite deposits in the Central Mineral region of Texas, chiefly in Precambrian metamorphic rocks, are situated in Llano County and adjacent parts of Mason, Gillespie, and Burnet counties with minor occurrences in Blanco and San Saba counties.
The Ogallala formation extends from the north side of the Pecos Valley northward across western Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska into southern South Dakota.
Since 1947, the Morton Salt Company's Kleer mine in the Grand Saline salt dome has more than doubled in size.
